A consultation diary, released in full, and what it shows

This is fictional sample content, created to demonstrate the layout. The places, people and figures in it are invented. It is not reporting.

The diary was released after a request that took five months and one internal review. It covers the policy development phase, not the formal consultation that followed.

The pattern is not hidden and is not, on its own, improper. Officials meet the organisations that have the data and the operational knowledge.

What the diary does show is sequencing. The six organisations were met repeatedly through the drafting. The groups representing the people affected were met twice, both times after the draft was substantially complete.

The department says the formal consultation was open to all and that responses were weighted on substance, not source. The published response document does not break down who said what.